Last week we asked how often should a digest of our blog posts be sent out to our newsletter and 90% said weekly. This weeks question is…

Your blog is your own personal space on the Internet, so it only makes sense that you would want to completely personalize how your blog looks and feels. There are all sorts of features that immediately come to mind, like creating a unique header image, choosing a unique layout, and opting for color schemes that are reflective of your personality. You may also want to integrate things like your Twitter status, your recent social media activity, and your Flickr photos.

The smaller details are important as well. Most blogs list their categories in the sidebar or the footer, but this list is typically in alphabetical order. Most bloggers don’t pay too much attention to this, because they assume that as long as the categories are there, visitors will be able to access most of their material. What if you want to emphasize one category over another? What if you want to strategically list the categories in a certain order?

That’s where the My Category Order WordPress plug-in can come in incredibly handy. As its name implies, the plug-in allows you to sort the categories in your list in whatever order you would like. It works with subcategories as well, in case you use those too.

The interface is completely drag-and-drop, so you won’t have to worry about any messy coding. Those using widgetized themes will appreciate that My Category Order has a widget for easy installation too.

Last year Vancouver had a few successful tweetup’s where people could put a face to the tweets. I think this can be done in the FraserValley for those that do not want to cross the bridge. This will be the first ever Fraser Valley Tweetup so come out and get to know your fellow twitter followers.

When is the course happening?
Friday, February 6, 2009 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM

Where is it happening?
Jimy Mac’s Neighbourhood Pub‎ – 19935 96 Avenue  - Langley

Registration
To register for this event just post a comment.

In PHP, when you’re handling data, there are two ways you can send it. One is to send it to the browser, and the other is to pass it off to another variable or function. We’re going to talk about these differences today.

Echo

Echo is a language construct which takes the provided argument(s) and then outputs them to the requesting browser. Which looks like this:

[code='php']echo 'This string of text will be outputted to the browser.';[/code]

Remember, always end it with a semi-colon. It is also possible to provided multiple parameters to echo, and it will output them all:

[code='php']echo 'This string will be outputted,', $variable, 'and so will that variable.';[/code]

Which can also be achieved using periods instead of commas.

You should note that there’s also print, which does the same thing as echo, except can only accept one parameter, and always returns 1.

Return

Return is also a language construct, but it is used to pass a value off to a variable or another function. Calling return in your script or function will either end the script or end the function and then return the value. Return is often used in functions to pass on the value without outputting it to the browser, or in files that are intended to be included, to, again, pass on the value without outputting it to the browser. Let’s look at an example of a function passing off data to a variable:

[code='php']function return_example( $arg ) {
if ( $arg == 'banana' ) {
return 'Banana';
}
else {
// There's nothing else to do, so end execution of this function
return;
}
}

$fruit = return_example( 'banana' );[/code]

In this example, the value of $fruit will become “Banana”, as that what the function will send off. Also notice the empty return, which can be used to end the execution of the function or file if there’s nothing else that needs to be done in it.

You can also use a function to return a success or failure (true or false):

[code='php']function return_example2() {
if ( 1+1 == 2 ) {
return TRUE;
}
else {
return FALSE;
}
}

if ( return_example2() == TRUE ) {
echo 'All is right with the world.';
}
else {
echo 'Something has defiantly gone wrong...';
}[/code]

In this example, 1 + 1 will always be true, so that’s what we return, which is then checked by an if. It is worth noting that in the if you can also use 1 for true and 0 for false.

In closing

So, basically you’ll want to use echo whenever you want to output something to the browser, and use return when you want to end the script or function and pass on data to another part of your script.

People all around the world were glued to their televisions this morning to witness the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America. Barack Obama has a lot of weight on his shoulders but his ascension to the highest office in the land has also created some rather interesting business opportunities. There are a lot of products that bear his likeness, as well as a push to sell his books. The American Way would show us that when there is a buck to be made, someone is going to make it.

That’s all well and good, but what if your business has absolutely nothing to do with politics? It’s one thing to capitalize on this enthusiasm and energy by selling Obama-themed merchandise, but what if you sell widgets (or web hosting)? A question that some companies have faced for these last few months has been whether or not it is appropriate to publicly exclaim their political inclinations. Even though it may be popular to support Obama, obviously not everyone voted for him and not everyone approves of him.

In this way, while you may think that you are capitalizing on a business opportunity by proudly displaying your support for Barack Obama, you may also be turning off potential customers who are not quite as thrilled about the new POTUS. Outward displays of your political affiliation may be appropriate in your personal life, but it may not be appropriate for your business.

What’s your take? If you are a business owner, have you made any outward displays of your support (or lack of support) for the new United States President?

Now that we’ve covered the basics of XHTML, we’re going to wrap it up with this post. We’ll be coming back to XHTML throughout the series when necessary. So, let’s take a look at our original XHTML document from back in the original post:

[code='xml']

Hello world!

[/code]

Since then, we’ve learned how to add links and images and various tags you can add to your document’s head. Now, before we add all that to our document, I want to go over two more tags.

Header Tags

No, this is not related to the head of your document, this is to do with section headings. These are mostly useful for SEO purposes, but also provides different formatting for better visual separation of sections. The tags for these are h1, h2, h3, h4, h5 and h6. You do not need to use all of these, but they should be used in order, without skipping any.

[code='xml']

Header Tags Example

Section text...

Sub-section

Sub-section text

[/code]

The Div Tag

The div tag will be one of the tags you use the most while coding webpage designs. The div tag is used to separate and group elements on your page for similar formatting or positioning. You will find this tag very useful when used with CSS. It is worth noting that div tags are almost always used with the attributes id or class.

[code='xml']

[/code]

Combining it All

Now, let’s combine some of what you’ve learnt into a document:

[code='xml']

[/code]

Additional Resources

I’m hoping I’ve set you on the right path to becoming proficient in coding XHTML. I obviously can’t go over everything, but I believe I have gone over what’s necessary to get you started. Sometimes it is best to go out on your own and self-teach yourself more in-depth on this kind-of stuff, that’s what I did. So here’s some helpful resources to help you further master XHTML:

XHTML Markup Validator – Having valid XHTML markup is important to ensure the greatest compatibility among all browsers. This free service will validate your documents for you.

W3Schools – A concise XHTML reference, great for when you need to look something up real quick.

SitePoint HTML Reference – If you’re interested in a great, technical HTML reference, then this will be for you.